China Announces Its Intention to Conduct Live Fire Military Exercises Around Taiwan

SadaNews - On Monday, China announced its intention to conduct large-scale live-fire military exercises around Taiwan, a move that was met with strong condemnation from Taipei, which considered these maneuvers a challenge to international laws and order.

The exercises are scheduled to begin tomorrow, Tuesday, in five maritime and aerial regions surrounding the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own.

Colonel Shi Yi, spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army, stated that forces from the army, navy, air force, and missile troops will participate in joint drills codenamed "Mission Justice 2025."

A separate statement showed a map of the five areas where live-fire activities will take place from 8 am to 6 pm, warning unrelated ships and aircraft to stay out of those areas for safety reasons.

In response, the Taiwanese presidential office strongly condemned the exercises, calling on Beijing to exercise rationality and restraint and to stop what it described as irresponsible provocations.

It asserted that China is disregarding international standards and using military intimidation to threaten neighboring countries.

Taiwanese authorities confirmed that their military and security forces are fully prepared, noting the deployment of forces in response to the exercises, according to the Taiwanese army as reported by Agence France-Presse.

These moves come amid ongoing tensions between China and Taiwan, as well as between Beijing and Washington and Western powers.

The roots of the conflict date back to 1949 when Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan after their defeat by the communists, and since then, China has insisted that the island is an integral part of its territory, without excluding the use of force to assert its sovereignty.

Experts believe that Beijing may prefer to impose a blockade on Taiwan rather than launching a full-scale invasion, given the significant risks involved in a direct military assault, while it continues to strengthen its naval and aerial military presence around the island and conduct exercises simulating multiple combat scenarios.